What musos can teach us about creating breakthroughs

To achieve breakthroughs you need people who sing totally different tunes.

Last year, my son went from bedroom guitarist to co-writing an original song that was played on local radio within a few short weeks.

The breakthrough wasn’t a leap in musical skill, it was learning to create with a mix of familiar faces and people he’d never met.

At a local songwriting program for young people run by seasoned musos, he found what psychologists call the creative sweet spot, where fresh collaborators bring fewer assumptions, less baggage, and more willingness to experiment.

With friends, we often fall into familiar patterns. We know each other's styles, predict responses, and avoid pushing boundaries that might create tension.

With people we don’t know, more becomes possible.

Here's the process he learned to turn ambition into results in a few short weeks:

→ Start with a structure (a beat that created safety for risk-taking)

→ Build in layers (everyone contributes, no one dominates, ideas build on each other)

→ Suspend judgement (record everything, evaluate later)

→ Embrace different ideas (new voices dropped in to push the work further)

Familiarity can often stifle creativity. Strangers don’t know what you “can’t” do, so they push boundaries you wouldn’t test with people you're familiar with.

When you want big bold ideas, don’t just look around the room at familiar faces, invite in new voices to challenge what you think is possible to help you create a whole new tune.

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